Stains In The Carpet
by Ms. Catnip
Summary: Midgardian AU: In which Odin is an alcoholic, Thor has two jobs, and Loki is just trying to finish his homework. - Thor/Loki, angst
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:  
><strong>The first few chapters for this fic will be short. Roughly 400-500 words. But they do get longer over time.

* * *

><p>"While you're beneath <em>my roof<em>, you'll live by _my rules_, Thor!"  
>"<em>Your<em> roof? And who pays for this roof over our heads, father? Certainly not you!"

It's been like this for as long as Loki cares to remember. Well, longer than that really, since he hasn't cared for much of anything since he was a child.

"I am the one who goes to work, _I_ am the one who pays our bills, and by those laws you should be getting off your good for nothing ass and _doing what I ask_!"

Mother's death had shaken them all, what with the suddenness of it, and their father had taken it.. Well, not the _worst_, but his particular kind of mourning was definitely the most destructive.

He'd stopped working entirely as soon as Thor hit an age where he could get a job, leaving him wanting of absolutely any academic career, and developed a chronic drinking problem that was incredible if only because he'd never landed in the hospital because of it.

For what it was worth, Loki sided with his brother. But, as Odin liked to rub in his face on his worse nights, the opinion of a bastard child mattered about as much as the stains in the carpet.

"You say nothing to Loki, and _he_ does not work!" The white-haired drunkard bellows as he waves his paper bag-wrapped bottle around in a grand gesture, much as a king would his scepter.

But their father is no king, and a three dollar bottle of wine does not earn respect.

"No, but _Loki_ is actually making something of his life." Thor responds with more pride than he's ever gotten from his so-called 'father', and it never fails to surprise him just how much his oaf of a brother appreciates the worth of his intelligence. "He will become something grand and important, a lawyer or a diplomat, while you sit there in your chair and collect dust!"

"Father, brother, please. I doubt either of you can even recall where this argument started." The smallest of the three says as diplomatically as possible, his notebook set aside for the third time that evening.

_He_ knows how the fight started. Loki getting too involved in his schoolwork to remember the dishes, Odin calling him worthless, and Thor—big, lovable, idiotic, Thor—jumping to his rescue just as he always does with everything. He was rarely the cause of their conflicts, at least as far as he could tell, but when he'd spent so much of his time trying to keep them from clawing at eachother's faces, this step back was rather frustrating.

"Brother, you have work in the morning, and father.. I am sure you would much rather be spending your time with your bottle and the television."


	2. Chapter 2

The next day is no better than the first, or the one before it, and it will certainly not be better than the day after it.

It's been a frigid and wet winter, which means that Thor has to get up an hour earlier to clear the ice and sleet away from the car and driveway to leave for work.

It also means that he needs his coffee made earlier than usual, lest he be unable to function at all and the bills for their hovel go unpaid.

Loki assures himself that he's simply being practical by getting up earlier with his brother to get him his coffee, and that the toast and jam are simply a meaningless gesture done because he has the time to do it while the coffee pot does it's work.

"Thank you, Loki." He says sweetly, just as he does every morning, those puppy-like eyes glittering with a sleepy kind of affection.

And every day Loki would respond in kind.

Out of courtesy, he tells himself.

* * *

><p>When Thor steps into the living room after a long day of lifting crates and fixing roofs, he isn't really sure what to expect.<p>

He's returned home to find any number of things before, and very few would strike him as odd at this point.

But the sight of his father bellowing at Loki as the smaller man attempts to gather his papers from school off of the floor is not something he's used to seeing.

It's unsurprising how little they fight, at least in comparison to Odin and Thor, because he's a great deal more quiet and while his brother is not as strong as he, and certainly not as powerful as Odin, he had never cowered before. Not even as a child.

It was what made the sight of him shrinking away from the approaching man all the more troubling.

"Loki," He begins in a firm, reassuring, tone as he steps over to the raven haired man, kneeling beside him as he helps to pick up his folders and books. "Loki, what is wrong? What has he done?"

Before he even begins to respond, the wretch is talking over him, his voice booming and speech slurred almost to the point of inaudibility. "Your _useless_ brother knocked everything to the floor."

At a loss for words the blonde simply turns to Loki with a look of utter confusion. The offense didn't fit the anger, even by his father's standards. "Loki, please tell me what happened?"

"It is nothing, Thor, please sit at the table. We ordered takeout."

* * *

><p>"You are unhappy here." Thor states later as they sip their after dinner drinks of choice. Loki a cup of chamomile tea, and Thor a beer. Possibly two or three.<p>

Loki worries sometimes that the pressure will become too much for him. That it's really only a matter of time before he begins to act like their dreaded father, but he never voices it. It would simply hurt him.

"Of course I am unhappy. What is there to be happy about here?" The words come out more irritated than he means them too, and he knows he should have, perhaps, given his answer more thought when he catches the look of sadness that passes over the tired man's eyes.

"I will take you away from this place, Loki." Thor says suddenly, breaking the silence with such conviction that no one could fault you in believing him.

"I know, Thor." He replies softly.

He always does.


	3. Chapter 3

When Loki got an afterschool job, his only intention had been to earn a little pocket change for himself since Thor never had enough for bills _and_ recreation. Well, he did have a little, but never enough for the both of them, and Loki simply didn't want to be a beggar.

It had nothing to do with Thor's wants or needs, or how he might finally be able to save up enough to buy himself a new car to go to work in.

No.

It was entirely selfish.

"You did not have to do it, Loki." Thor tells him during one of his rare off-days as Loki puts on a scarf to go outside. "If you needed more money, I could have moved some things—"

"Did it every occur to you that I was tired of making you do so?" The raven-haired man says to silence him, catching too late how soft his voice is.

He never wants to hit his brother as much as he does when he gets that grin on his face. It isn't smug or teasing, it's just pure affection wrapped up in a single expression, and it makes his heart skip beats.

"That is very sweet of you, Loki." Thor says to him while giving his head a gentle pat, the coffee in his other hand sloshing slightly on the carpet.

"Father will shout at you for staining the rug again." The smaller man tells him with a little too much amusement.

"Father can kiss my ass."

* * *

><p>It's oddly rare that Odin will <em>come home<em> drunk, as opposed to drinking himself into a stupor at the dingy two bedroom apartment, or waiting to come home until he's woken up in the alley behind his bar of choice.

Loki isn't sure if he's more irritated that his own sleep was disturbed, or that Thor, who's taken it upon himself to sleep on the couch, will no doubt be woken up by the their father's drunken hobbling.

_It would be his own fault_, Loki lies to himself out of habit, really wanting to mean it this time.

He _had_ told his brother that it was stupid, that there was more than enough room for them both. There had been for all the years before. But, for whatever reason, at around the age of fifteen Thor just _would not_ share a room with his brother.

To this day Thor wouldn't tell him what had changed, and Loki didn't care enough to ask.

Really he didn't.

The crash in the kitchen rouses him from his thoughts, and he cannot help but sigh at the old man's selfishness. If Thor hadn't awoken before, he certainly would be now. He hears the swear, hushed no doubt for his benefit, as loudly as if it were inside the room, but he'll give the blonde the benefit of the doubt and blame it on paper-thin walls.

At this rate, none of them would be able to function in the morning. So Loki, ever the peacekeeper, slipped on his simple robe, tying it loosely, and stepped out into the living room to put a stop to it.

He's surprised to see that Odin is nowhere to be found, and that it is Thor who has just come home and broken one of the few ceramic mugs they still own. "Thor?"

The look on Thor's face when he turned to him was indiscernible. Irritated for some reason at first, then surprised, and then…something else entirely. "Loki, you… Go back to bed." It's rare for him to trip over his words like that, or to stare so intently, and for a moment the teen feels incredibly underdressed.

It's silly, but he tugs the robe a bit more tightly closed, blaming it on the chill of the place. "Thor, are you alright?"

"Loki," He repeats, more firmly this time as he drags his eyes back to the ruined cup. "Go back to bed."

He does after a moment's hesitation, but the worry keeps him up until he hears the sound of Thor snoring on the couch on the other side of the wall.


	4. Chapter 4

Christmas was the one thing Loki and his father could agree upon. During one of the rare trips that the entire family would take to the store, either Odin or his son would spot the "Winter Wonderland" sign hanging from the ceiling, look to the other, and exchange a look of understanding. They would not enjoy being at home until after the New Year when Thor took everything down.

It was a stupid tradition to have in a house as unenthusiastic about everything as their's, but every year Thor would get that damned twinkle in his eye and fuss over the tree and decorations. "The very best!" He would say every year, filling the cart up with more than they could ever afford in an attempt to replace what their father always managed to break, and it always took Loki fifteen minutes to _an hour_ to convince him that the store brand lights, ornaments, and baubles were just as good.

It hurt Thor's pride to admit that he couldn't afford the biggest tree, or the prettiest star for the top, and the younger brother could read it on his face as easily as if there really were words written there. "Well, I suppose I could always put the rest of the budget toward gifts."

_Gifts._

That a single word could make Loki grit his teeth in irritation might surprise you, but it was the truth. His dolt of a brother always went overboard with presents, cutting his personal budget to near nothing, but he'd never mentioned it to Loki. He'd never told him just how much he spent.

It was infuriating.

* * *

><p>"Loki," Thor called patiently for the thirteenth time as he hung ornaments from the stubby tree's branches. "You have put enough on hooks, come decorate with me." He asks so sweetly, his stupid handsome face lit by the Christmas lights perfectly despite being dim and nearly comedic in their lack of functionality.<p>

"Fine," Loki murmured, getting up and placing the decorations wherever they fit. Father had been gone, and he'd continue to be for sometime, which meant that it would be nothing but Thor and he for _hours_.

Decorating, _baking_, watching the same idiotic specials as last year. Celebrating didn't make them all forget that mother wasn't there, and no one was stupid enough to think that Thor hadn't become father Christmas just because it had been her favorite holiday.

"Thank you, Loki…" He speaks up so suddenly that Loki jumps, missing the brief flash of sadness in Thor's eyes. "For what?"

He'd turned away to unbox, the star, offering a slight shrug as his only immediate response. "For decorating, for..for not complaining. Not ever."

It made him feel as guilty as it did warm, and neither could be very good. "I simply know what this means to you."

Thor looked up then, fixing Loki with a surprised gaze. His eyes seemed brighter than they had up until now, and softer at the corners, and with a smile he let his eyes drift back to the tree. "Would you like to put on the star?"

Loki didn't get a chance to respond as their father came in, surprising them both with his presence but not with the heavy smell of gin that filled the room when he stepped inside. He could see the precise moment when the near ritualistic anger spread through his brother. Thor's jaw tensed, causing a single vein to stand out on his neck, and his eyes narrowed as he took a step forward.

Loki knew this argument.

_It is Christmas time. Can you not even stay sober for mother's memory?_

It ended in busted furniture and holes in the wall from punches that were delivered both to keep from hitting one another, or from missing their target. They just couldn't afford to replace these things this year, the expenses were piling up from the increased fights. The broken dishes, the damages Odin had caused in multiple bars with a frightening climb in frequency. As it stood, Thor would just barely manage to afford a new car battery, let alone an entire replacement.

Decision made for him years ago, Loki moves to stand directly behind Thor, his hand resting on the larger man's forearm as he leans in to whisper. "Thor," It comes out a murmur, and the younger man is too busy keeping both eyes on Odin to make sure he doesn't try anything to notice how the blonde swallows. "Thor, please… It is Christmas." He tries for pleading, it is a rare tactic, but right now he'd deemed it necessary.

He feels the muscles relaxing beneath his palm, and against him, before his brother nods, and with a quiet word of thanks he turns back to the tree. "Hello, father." He says amiably, knowing that pretending nothing has happened is often better than broaching the subject with the eldest of them.

"Loki." The greeting is rough from the burn of alcohol, but it holds no animosity, and that's a good sign.

Argument forgotten, the young Odinson brightens his speech, knowing that it could only help. "You picked a fine tree, Thor." He says, turning to the other two with a smile. "Didn't he?"

Odin does nothing more but grunt and return to his room, but Thor returns the smile with one of his own.

Small victories.


	5. Chapter 5

The day before Christmas, full of warmth and joy for most, was just another boring and grey day spent alone at the apartment for Loki. Thor worked all days but on the holidays themselves, no doubt to make up all the money spent on the ridiculous presents.

The day seemed longer every year, more empty while his brother toiled away, and Loki found himself uncharacteristically excited to hear Thor calling to him from the main room. "Do not come out, Loki, I have things to wrap!" The booming voice was happier than usual, even for Thor, and at once the dark-haired teen knew that his older sibling had gotten a Christmas bonus. It was so rare, considering how late he usually made it to work just because of Loki taking a little too long to get ready because of the cold, or from the engine icing over. "Very well." He called back, the smile too wide on his face to ever let Thor see.

* * *

><p>That night was the same as every other year. The older of Odin's sons attempting to make cookies for 'Santa', only to end up begging at Loki's feet for him to make new ones once his came out of the oven burnt to crisps. The same specials were given on the television, and their father was still passed out drunk by six-thirty in the evening.<p>

Christmas Eve passed quickly this time, however, and Loki had barely enough time to enjoy Thor covered in icing and flour from his failed attempt at a gingerbread house before he'd been sat down in front of the tree to open gifts. "Here," Thor said to him softly as he held out a box.

Loki took in the rectangular shape, the familiar wrapping, and knew right away that it was a new watch, but he put on a look of surprise for Thor, even giving him a loose hug for "Such a thoughtful gift.."

He said it every year no matter what he got, and Thor had never caught it.. Which is why Loki brushed off the small flicker of some emotion in the blond's pretty blue eyes.

* * *

><p>"You don't have to do it, Thor." Loki tells his brother for the sixteenth time, shrugging as he sews up a pair of freshly torn jeans. "I am sure that there are other people just as willing to chaperone the dance."<p>

If it were up to him, he wouldn't be going at all, but Thor—having not gone to any of his school's functions, passed middle school—seemed to enjoy seeing Loki off to parties. That, and it was a good way of relieving stress. He was a bookworm most days, had always been…

But Loki was a prankster at heart, and the only time he got to have any fun in ways like that were at social events.

"Nonsense, Loki. I would not miss it for the world!" His charming idiot of a brother hadn't stopped grinning since he'd received the request to help out. Going on and on about what he should wear, speculating on what type of food would be served. It was annoying enough to have him keep his back to the man at all times. Clearly he was going to have more fun than than Loki was.

"Besides," The large man continued, giving his brother a teasing look from behind his glass of orange juice. "Someone will have to keep you company."

He's only kidding, of course, since Loki has always had a small group of well-rounded friends, but Loki still smirks at the opportunity to poke holes in the older man's sails. "I have a date."

He heard a crash behind him, and he had to look to learn that it had been the glass in Thor's hands that had fallen and broken.

"Thor?"


	6. Chapter 6

If Loki had ever thought this was a good idea, he couldn't remember why.

The music was unbearably loud, the people danced almost obscenely close, and worst of all was—

"Loki," _Her_ shrill voice cut through the air like a knife through a crisp iron pan, and her blue painted nails dug into the fabric of Loki's shirt as she clung to his arm. "Why don't you ever talk about your brother? He seems nice.."

He couldn't help but look off guiltily, subconsciously searching out Thor just from the mere mention of his name.

The poor oaf looked miserable, even with the attention he was getting from the other chaperones, and a few of the students, and Loki couldn't place why.

_He_ wasn't the one with a giggling bobby-cut curled girl on his arm who's only purpose was to look pretty and keep the men who had been pestering him away. It was _weird_ they'd said, that he didn't even try to go after girls, and when Loki'd given no explanation they'd looked at him as if.. As if he were something other than a person.

_It's just one night._ He assured himself again as she used his arm to twirl on the dancefloor. _Just one night, and then I can go home with Thor._

* * *

><p>The night didn't get any better as time went on. In fact, it got <em>worse<em>.

The later it became, the more Loki realized that this girl was more than a little keen on him, and with the way she looked at him with big expectant eyes, the dark-haired teen knew he had to get some space between them and quickly. "I have to use the restroom," He lied smoothly, giving her an apologetic smile as he disentangled himself from her embrace on the gymnasium's seats and all but ran off the the bathroom.

It was quieter in here, and cooler. Loki could _think_ in here as long as he ignored the acrid stench of bleach permeating the air.

He wouldn't be rude, it wasn't her fault, he'd just find Thor and fake a stomachache. His brother wouldn't question him, simply whisk him home where their father would, thankfully, not be due to visiting some woman he'd begun to fancy.

If only she had waited like he'd asked.

He didn't hear her come in, too wrapped up was he in his own thoughts to hear the telltale sound of heels clacking on the ground as she came up behind him. She whispered something filthy into his ear before spinning him about and pulling him against her, her back pressed firmly against the bathroom sinks as she surged forward and caught Loki's lips in an awkward and sloppy kiss.

There wasn't a thing about it that Loki liked. It all felt undeniably _wrong_, as if he'd attempted to make medicine out of two utterly incompatible substances. And at least that would account for the sour feeling in his stomach. He tried to push away, but she was taller, stronger than he, and she held him in place.

He should have listened to Darcy, he should have just gone with her and her group of oddball friends. It wouldn't have been as convincing to everyone, but he knew he could trust her.

More than anything he wanted it to be over, he wanted it to stop, no matter what he just wanted it to _stop_—

"Loki, I saw you run off…"

Thor.

Loki had never wanted to die so much as he did now, and with a mix of relief and fury he realized that the girl had pulled back just in time for Thor to watch the spit glitter on Loki's kiss-swollen lips.

He would have to explain now, he knew, why he'd turned the girl down when all the boys he knew would have died for the chance to be in his shoes.

The look on the blond's face was indiscernible, but it was his eyes that troubled Loki the most. They didn't glitter, they did not gleam with anger or frustration. It was if someone had reached in and stolen the beautiful soul that had resided behind them and fled without a word as to _why_.

The taller man looked on his brother with recognition, and the emotions left in the wake of whatever discovery he'd made had left his gaze dripping with disappointment and grief. And if Thor, who loved him over all else, couldn't look on him the same then how could anyone? How could _Loki_?

"Thor, let me ex—"

His brother lifted a hand to silence him, and the smile he put on nearly made Loki cry. "It is alright, Loki.. I have to get home for work in the morning, do you believe you can get a ride back with Darcy?"

He felt helpless, and stupidly hopeful. Thor hadn't lashed out, he hadn't yelled or called him a single name, and Loki dared to dream his brother would accept him like so few before him did. "Yes, brother." He accentuated the word, needing to cling to the familiar tie now more than ever.

He would always remember how Thor flinched.

* * *

><p>Thor had lied.<p>

He hadn't gone back home to rest earlier than usual, and instead had spent hours sitting silently on his stool inside of the local bar. This one was kept clean, free of drunkards or the usual rodents that so often filled the other places. But he couldn't appreciate it, not tonight.

He couldn't go home, not yet. Not to those worried gem-like eyes that would widen, first in shock and then in disgust, if he ever explained the reasons behind his behavior.

When closing time came around he left without argument, the bitter chill of early morning doing nothing to wake him up. He wouldn't drive, not in his state and certainly not on the ice, but if he hurried he wouldn't have to miss a day's work.

It was only after a block or two that he spotted him, huddled in an alley between two run down buildings, a heavy coat wrapped tightly around his tiny frame. It wasn't uncommon to see the homeless around where they lived, but not like him.

His pale skin glowed almost ethereally in what was left of the moonlight, the complexion looking like that of expensive cream in comparison to the ink black hair that framed his delicate face, and the tiny bit of rouge that colored his cheeks made him appear as if he were blushing. He couldn't be a day older than twenty, and the closer Thor got to him the harder it was to reason. To cling to whatever resolve he'd made for himself over the years.

"How much?" He asked, voice rough from the cold and liquor, oblivious to the snow that had begun to fall around them.

He felt lightheaded, every inch of his body buzzing with anxiousness and excitement, and as the young stranger looked up at him, long eyelashes hooding bloodshot eyes of green, Thor lost himself to the beauty of denial.

* * *

><p>Loki, asleep at the kitchen table, nearly fell out of his seat when he awoke to the sound of the door shutting.<p>

He'd called around, even gone out for as long as he dared to look, and no one could tell him where Thor had gone. He hadn't even changed out of the clothes he'd worn earlier, and he might have shouted at the inconsiderate lummox if he hadn't been so relieved to see him okay.

"Thor!" He shouted, rushing over to embrace his brother only to be stopped by a firm hand and a stern gaze. He didn't understand, Thor was always the one trying to keep such expressions of affection going between them, why…?

All at once he remembered the dance, what Thor saw and must have realized. Of course, he was uncomfortable hugging him now. "Thor, I.."

"Not now, Loki." He replied gruffly, already shrugging off his coat and gathering his blankets from the closet. "I am tired and I wish to go to bed."

He had been ungrateful all this time, shying away from the casual affection out of embarrassment. Ending hugs early, pushing away from kisses to his forehead, or kicking Thor out of his room on the few occasions when he'd come in to cuddle with him after he'd left their room.

"I love you, brother."

It made the man still, his shoulders shake as he slumped forward and let out a shaky breath. He was crying..

"Thor? Thor, what is _wrong_ with you lately? Why do you no longer tell me what you are thinking. I can help you through it, I always have."

The silence between them was thick, broken only by the soft sobs coming from the man who had been his emotional anchor for years. "Whatever it is, Thor, please.. Let me help, just.."

They'd been drifting apart for years, it was Loki's fault. He'd always pushed and pushed, always taking and never giving. But he needed Thor, he needed his brother, his….his _everything_.

"Thor, _tell me_." He tries again, voice pleading and helpless after so many refusals to respond.

"I cannot." Is the only response he gets, and somehow the admittance of a problem is enough, and Loki wastes no time in hurrying over to his brother and wrapping his arms around him, burying his head into the other man's broad chest just as he always has. Thor doesn't smell like himself, and something twists in the smaller man's stomach at the thought of where he was, but even with those thoughts he won't get lost in the desperation. Not now.

He has Thor, safe, and it's enough. "I love you, you _idiot_. Don't ever do that to me again.."

He feels his brother still, and for a moment he worries that he'll be pushed away again.. But when Thor's arms wrap around him, strong, safe, _warm_, he knows he won't be. Absently he feels a kiss pressed into his hair, and he feels the smile tugging at the older man's lips as he speaks.

"I love you too."


	7. Chapter 7

_"I love you, you idiot. Don't ever do that to me again.."_

_He feels his brother still, and for a moment he worries that he'll be pushed away again.. But when Thor's arms wrap around him, strong, safe, warm, he knows he won't be. Absently he feels a kiss pressed into his hair, and he feels the smile tugging at the older man's lips as he speaks._

_"__I love you too."_

* * *

><p>In the morning they say nothing of it. Simply eating their breakfast, for the most part, in silence. Loki or Thor occasionally rising to top off the respective mugs and glasses on the table, both receiving smiles for the consideration, though never from their father, without ever a word between them. Loki wasn't sure if he preferred it that way or not, the easy yet undefined interactions, but he knew better than to press the issue in present company.<p>

He was sure Thor wouldn't refuse to give him a bit of elaboration as to what the night before had meant if he were asked. Why he joined Loki in his bed for the first time in years, yet insisted the entire time that he maintain his distance.

Their bodies had grown closer over the course of the night despite his older brother's plans, and it had felt oddly comfortable to wake up feeling those arms around his middle, that stubbled chin gently rubbing against his cheek as the larger of the two buried his face into Loki's neck from behind, and dark haired teen found himself admitting, if only to himself, that he wanted to know if that would continue.

However, after two more helpings of omelet and hashbrowns crisped so far passed their namesake as to be called hashcharcoal, Thor spoke and the silence was broken at last before Loki had a chance to dwell on his thoughts further, the lovable giant of a man bearing a grin far too wide for the hour as he addressed his brother. "Tell me, Loki. What are your plans for today?"

If he were to be honest, Darcy had offered to take him out the night before to cheer him up. 'Get him something pretty', She'd said. 'Or perhaps some tight jeans to show off your assets.' And while he'd agreed then out of lack of other plans, it almost seemed rude not to at least wait and see if Thor had some other plans for him he hadn't mentioned yet. "I don't believe so," He answered in a non-committing way, wanting to keep his options open.

"Well, I was thinking I could spend my day off playing chauffeur for you and your friends. You usually have plans on the weekends, perhaps you could wrangle them up?" The blond had offered so earnestly, looking much like a puppy eyeing a potential treat for a job well done as he watched Loki with those damnably emotive eyes of his. But Loki liked to keep Thor out of the way when he was around his friends, it was simpler that way.

His brother had a warm heart, and enough indiscriminate affection to make the cutest of animals jealous. But he was also boorish, brash, and altogether just wasn't a very bright man. And while that was _fine_ for when they were alone, Darcy and his other friends were well-read, cultured individuals, especially for their age, and the thought of Thor going anywhere near them made him_ cringe _internally.

"I'll give Darcy a call when I'm sure she's up. Thank you, brother." He replied from behind his mug of tea, silently cursing the lummox and his undeniable puppy eyes. They'd be the death of him one day.

And if Odin looked upon his sons with frightening lucidity, neither had the courage to acknowledge it.

* * *

><p>When they pulled up to Darcy's apartment building, Loki immediately regretted his decision.<p>

He loved that girl, really he did, but when he saw her sitting on the snowy steps, talking to another other girl with the kind of enthusiasm that could only be associated with his friend, he knew that he was going to have a very serious talk with her… Because he was all but certain she was bringing this woman along.

"Loki, who is that?" He asked with as much subtlety as any man could manage while tilting his head to try and get a better look at her through the fogging window.

She was older, a college student if he remembered correctly, which fit in just fine with Darcy and her numerous fake IDs. But he'd never found her particularly interesting. Her hair was a light sort of brown, dull by his description. She wasn't _ugly_, but all in all Loki found her forgettable.

One glance at his brother, however, told a different story entirely.

"Jane.. Her name is Jane." He said it with so little interest it bordered on contempt, and he didn't bother to hide the frown on his face as he folded his arms and leaned back fully in his chair. Thor wouldn't notice, he always failed to notice Loki when there was a pretty face around. It was partly his fault, he knew, for not giving the older man a lot of attention. Of course he'd devote his time to someone who swooned over him. But even if he had, there would always be something they could provide that he couldn't.

His face fell as his brother watched _that woman_ with an almost boyish affection, and when Thor repeated her name, breathing it like something beautiful and fine, Loki felt something inside him twist almost painfully. His brother could do better than some plain woman like her, why would he even _look at her_ like that. It was _ridiculous_, he.. wanted to slap some sense into him. "Idiot.."

* * *

><p>"What's eating you, sweetie?" Darcy asked later over a basket of fries, able to tell Loki was in a foul mood even without using her keen sense of observation. He <em>had<em> been glaring over at the other table, where Jane and Mister Golden God had been chatting quietly amongst themselves. She had no idea what about, since Jane was studying to be an astrophysicist and Thor was.. Honestly, she had no idea.

It wasn't her fault, she did pay attention, but Loki almost _never_ brought him up. Not to mention that the last time he _had_, everything from the topic, the way he spoke it, and the emotions he displayed were some mix that could only mean there was a certain.. _complicated_ aspect to their relationship.

She knew it couldn't be that _Loki_ wanted to talk to Jane. He'd met her a few times before and seemed _entirely_ unimpressed, which sucked for Darcy since she'd taken a shine to the slightly stuffy older woman. And it _definitely_ couldn't be based on attraction because, unless she'd lost her mind and was seeing things, Jane was very much _not_ a guy.

Though, she supposed, it made sense to her that Loki would have some amount of codependency fueled jealousy. Most of the school knew that there was something _not quite right_ at home, which would have made Thor the logical choice for him to cling to from an early age out of a need to feel safe. What _didn't_ add up was the way he all but shunned him in public. He distanced himself from his brother, and yet all the while he stared daggers at the person who'd taken the attention that Loki didn't even seem to want. It was almost like…

Alright, maybe she'd been spending a great deal of her free time looking up a certain Viennese doctor's theories, but that didn't change the fact that it fit. If only in some really awkward but platonic way, Loki was _clearly_ jealous of the attention Jane was getting. From his brother.

"Darcy? _Darcy_."

She jolted when she realized Loki was speaking to her, at least having the good sense to look meek when she replied. "Right, uh, sorry. What did you say?" In return she got an exaggerated eyeroll and a huff befitting a princess before he rose with their now empty tray and marched off to throw out the garbage.

"Oh, come on!" She shouted after the thin boy, unaware of the concerned blue eyes looking over from just one table away. "I _said_ I was sorry!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter warning:  
><strong>Brief, not-so-graphic, and sort of slashy(?), het sex.. yeah, you read that right.  
>Full AN at the bottom.

* * *

><p>Thor wasn't around as much as he used to be.<p>

Loki wasn't neglected by any means. They still had most of their meals together, Thor still made the time to catch up on what extraordinary thing might have happened in the few hours since he last asked.

But a night or two out of the week, Thor would go out and just not come home for hours, and sometimes not at all. Leaving Loki to sip at his coffee alone in the morning, without a playful comment on his sleep-rumpled hair to glare at, and deprived of the smell of generic toaster pastries heating up in the near-ancient toaster.

Those days he wouldn't be back until after his shift at work, and with such a disgustingly joyful grin on his face that Loki found himself gritting his teeth whenever he saw it.

He knew it was ridiculous. That, in comparison, the amount of time he was gone was practically insignificant, and that it shouldn't have even mattered. Hell, with the time that he sent himself to bed, he shouldn't have even have been able to _notice_.

But he did.

He did because he'd fallen asleep to the sound of Thor's snoring since he was four years old, and that was something no amount of white noise or blowing fans could hope to compensate for. He did because the sound of that front door shutting in the middle of the night was enough to make his chest ache and his stomach clench. He did because he _knew_ what it meant, what his brother was doing and who he was seeing, and the knowledge alone pained him more than any cruel word his father had ever thrown at him.

The very worst part was knowing he couldn't stop it, that he had no _right_ to, and that trying would only result in the question that had been plaguing him being spoken aloud in his brother's voice.

_Why?_ He would rightfully ask. _Why should it bother you?_

And even now, alone and blanketed in the once comforting darkness, he wouldn't dare search his mind for the answer to his own question. He couldn't, not when he was so sure of what the answer would be.

Loki turned over again in his bed, straining his ears to hear the soft sounds from the other side of the wall that he already knew weren't there, and told himself to find comfort in the fact that things weren't worse than they were… yet.

* * *

><p>Thor's grip tightened around the creamy thighs beneath his hands as he pushed back inside, grunting into the crook of the other's neck as he felt and heard their bodies meeting with every new inch he moved. His actions were met with a heady moan and a firm grip on his shoulders from a pair of delicate hands. It was almost perfect, and if he let his eyes open when he nuzzled into the dark and silky tresses, he could pretend the voice that moaned his name when he began to move faster was a little lower in pitch, that the waist was a little thinner.<p>

That between the whimpers and cries were pleas that didn't use his name, that instead whined desperately and gasped the word '_broth—_'

Thor came first, hard, and lightly bit into Jane's skin to stop the name that threatened to tear it's way free and ruin everything.

She finished just after, blissful and sated and seemingly oblivious. But Thor knew there was something questioning in her eyes when he pulled away and began dressing to leave.

"You can spend the night." She offered lightly, though she knew what the answer would be.

* * *

><p>Loki told himself he didn't care one way or the other if his brother was home when he awoke. And yet, when he stepped out of his room that morning he couldn't deny the relief he felt just seeing him asleep on the sofa again.<p>

He didn't wake him right away, instead setting the coffee to brew before he approached him, and even then he indulged himself in a few minutes' worth of simply.. watching. But he shifted and the spell was broken, leaving again Loki to face the reality of things, and despite how supportive Thor attempted to be he knew this wasn't something he could ever tell him. Which meant having to face it alone.

"Thor.." He murmured softly, gently shaking his shoulder to wake him up. "Thor, the coffee's ready."

He was met with a lot of grumbling, none of it intelligible save for the name Loki, and huffed in response. He never asked to sleep in, not once since he'd gotten his job, and he could only guess why he'd been so tired lately. He ignored the pang of jealousy, it wouldn't help.

The dark haired teen waited patiently for any sign of him waking up, and when none was forthcoming he decided to go for the same desperate measures he'd employed when his brother was younger and Loki had someplace he wanted to go at the very last minute. Which already had him wearing a smirk.

"Thor," He tried again, a sweet little murmur in his brother's ear that was meant to be followed by a threat involving ice, and was instead immediately interrupted by a soft gasp and Thor's eyes suddenly snapping open. A beat—two, three—of silence passed between them, and Loki could swear he saw that same unplaceable look in his brother's bright blue eyes.

He opened his mouth to speak, unaware of the way his tongue had darted out to wet his lips first, and before a single sound was uttered Thor was moving him out of the way and hurrying out the door with some excuse about an early shift and how he'd be late.

Loki just stared, confused and worried about what his brother was thinking that he'd be out so late when he had to go into work _earlier than normal_ the following day.

He was so absorbed in the thought that he didn't notice his father standing in the doorway of his own room until he moved to put away Thor's pillow and blankets himself. He didn't say anything, he simply looked on like he'd fit the beginnings of a puzzle together and was despondently searching out the other pieces. Loki rarely had any idea of what the old man really was thinking, and now wasn't an exception, but he knew whatever it was it couldn't be good.

Before Loki could greet him, Odin went back into his room.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>  
>I'm truly sorry this took so long. I had a ridiculously long fight with myself over the ending, but I've finally resolved it, and hopefully should be able to get back to my usual frequent updates.<p>

Also, thanks _so much_ to everyone for the messages. You guys are awesome.


	9. Chapter 9

**Quick note:**  
>Larger chapter on the way. This just needed to be posted first.<p>

* * *

><p>Loki sat at the table in frustrated silence, waiting as his brother sat himself down with his dinner before he asked why he'd been out so late, and not hiding one bit of his irritation when he did so. He had a reason for it, after all, and he was going to take complete advantage of that.<p>

He'd cooked dinner for three, and while he was used to his father not caring for solids, he'd generally been able to count on Thor to show up when he said he would. But he hadn't been, and he hadn't been around barely at all for days.

Thor, of course, says nothing in favor of picking at his now-cold stew.

And that's by far the most infuriating part for him. Not that Thor was coming home later and later every day, not that he'd barely tried to seek Loki out for conversation, it was that no matter how many times he would ask Thor what it was, he wouldn't _say anything_.

He'd tried to guess, asked _specifically _if Thor was out seeing Jane, but the blond would deny it. Always. And though Loki was sure he was lying, especially since if it was extra shifts at work he'd have just said so, he couldn't come up for a reason as to why he would.

Had he picked up on Loki's distaste of the woman? He hadn't exactly been the most subtle. And his attempts at playful mocking whenever he alluded to their relationship always held too sharp an edge. Too much bitterness than they had any right being.

But Thor wasn't as keen as he was. He wasn't stupid, not at all, but Loki had been actively trying to mask how.. conflicted he'd been feeling, and Thor wasn't exactly looking for anything to see. Or, at least, he shouldn't have been.

"Thor, if you need to take this much extra work, I can get a—" Loki tries for a new angle, maybe it is about work, maybe he's embarrassed to ask for help. But Thor just shakes his head and opens his mouth to speak, and _finally_ Loki thinks they're getting somewhere. But he's wrong.

"It's nothing like that, Loki. We're doing fine." He avoids looking at Loki when he replies, as if the dark haired boy could read the answer in his eyes, and for a moment Loki lets himself think he knows his brother well enough to try at it. "I just.. I went out."

His hands clench into fists beneath the table, and the one thing keeping him from tossing Thor's bowl to the floor in a fit is the fact that he might wake up their father, and that was the very last thing Loki needed to deal with.

So instead he stares at his brother, watches as he keeps his head down and finishes his meal, and wonders what could be so terrible that _Thor_ would lie to _him_.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

This one's a lot of mini-scenes, which is pretty rare for this fic I think? But the next one will definitely not be. Expect very few, very long, and very uncomfortable, scenes. BUT FOR NOW-

* * *

><p>Loki was studying when the call came, keeping to himself in the corner armchair as he read and reread the paragraphs in his book. He'd been too distracted to manage much more than that all day.<p>

Or to notice that his father had stepped out hours ago.

"Hello?" He says, polite enough, when he picks up the phone. Only to be treated to the sound of his father shouting some half-lie about someone picking a fight with him in a bar, and how the authorities had intervened…

Distantly Loki hears him still raving over the injustice of it all, but honestly he stopped listening some time ago.

"You're in jail." Loki tries not to sound amused, or just plain _delighted_ by the news. But he honestly can't help it, and really who could fault him for that?

His father, apparently. Which is why he's treated to more yelling, and demands that he tell his older brother so they can get him out of their _immediately_,"Or else!", but Loki hangs up before he can start to use some of the more disgusting phrases and names he's learned over the years.

He'd tell Thor, of course, but the old man didn't have to know that.

·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·

Loki expects Thor to act immediately. Take a chunk of their savings and rush off to rescue their wretch of a father from the legal system, only to have to drag him back so he can run out at night to get drunk all over again.

He doesn't.

"Let the old man rot in there awhile, it might do him some good." He says with a shrug and a deep sip of his beer, and Loki at first assumes he must be joking. Except that the longer the silence drags on, the more clear it becomes that… no, he really does plan on leaving their father in jail for at least the next few hours.

And while Loki has absolutely no problem with that, he's still completely and totally shocked.

"We'll get him tomorrow." Thor adds after a minute or three, and without a moment's hesitation Loki suggests it should be tomorrow, fine, but only _after _dinner. He expects a little argument, or at least a shake of his head, but again Thor surprises him by nodding in agreement instead. "After dinner, then."

·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·

Thor lays back that night, gripping the base of his empty bottle a little tighter than necessary. He's left the TV on, but not high enough for the dialogue to cover up the rustling of fabric from the other side of the wall. Loki's changing for bed. Stripping away his sweater and jeans and revealing inch after inch of creamy skin-

He clenches his jaw and pushes the images out of his head. The walls are thin, but not enough for the sounds to seem as prominent as they did to Thor's ears. He was paying attention, he was _trying_ to hear, which meant that if he just stopped and remembered who it was he was fantasizing about the thoughts would go away.

Except that picturing Loki's face made it harder to stop..

·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·

Loki freezes when he hears a knock on his door, only to remember his half-dressed state and hurried pull on a shirt in case Thor decides to just walk in. It isn't likely, at all, but he's not about to risk it. He hasn't heard a joke about how pale he is for some time, and he'd actually like to keep it that way.

"Yes?" He called after he was sure his clothes were straightened out, and again when there was no response. "Thor, what is it?"

He just stares at the door, waiting for it to open and his idiot brother to come in and apologize for bothering him. But neither happens. The door stays shut, and before too long Loki hears his footsteps carrying him back through the short hall and to the couch.

·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·

Neither of them sleeps restfully that night.

·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·

Loki leaves early in the morning for work, practically dead on his feet, but doesn't miss Thor's pitifully groggy "good morning" on his way out. He scoffs in return, but says it back before the door shuts behind him.

He'd consider it poor luck that Thor's day off wound up being on one of the few days Loki actually had to work, but he had a strong feeling Thor wasn't going to be stellar company that day regardless. He certainly hadn't been before, or just about at all lately. Or, at least, not with him.

_She_ was definitely getting his brother's best. He assumed.

At work, however, he gets a message from Thor asking him to be on time for dinner. It's hardly subtle, especially since he makes an effort to cook whenever he has the time, and either despite or because of that Loki catches himself smiling as he reads the note he'd been handed. For the third time. It's a little gesture, but after how strange he'd been acting lately.. well, something familiar was good. And besides, Thor had a knack for making food. Not that he'd ever tell him so.

It doesn't occur to him that things, for the most part, have been looking up in an odd sort of way. Though later he'd admit that it really should have.


	11. Chapter 11

The sound of a busy kitchen greeted him as he walked through the door, the smell of oregano and garlic and something else utterly divine following shortly after. Loki noticed none of it.

Instead his eyes locked on the person seated at the table, chatting with the man in the kitchen with her head down as she stared into the mug in her hands, utterly oblivious to the one who'd just come through the door. She giggled at a comment he missed, but there was no doubt in his mind that it was something sweet and flirty, and when he cleared his throat it was too loudly not to be heard.

"Oh!" She smiled at him, gave a wave, but Loki was spared the unfortunate obligation to return such courtesies when she turned her head to call into the kitchen. "Thor, Loki's home."

There was a clatter before the door opened, and the smile that tugged at the teen's lips at the sight of his brother in a pair of oven mitts dissolved almost as quickly as it appeared when he remembered _present company_.

His brother, unaware as usual, greeted him warmly as he stepped forward and gave him a brief hug, but the irritation quickly building up inside him kept the smaller Odinson from being able to actually enjoy it. He couldn't even appreciate Thor's sudden change in mood, it didn't feel right. "Hello, Thor." He said quietly as the blond drew back.

Thor's smile dimmed, undoubtably to do with the lack of receptiveness, but it brightened back up by the time he'd turned to Jane. "I'll go get our food." He told her, and Loki couldn't help but sense a level of reassurance in the words.

Loki, in turn, flashed Jane a smile as he took the seat across from her, and the expression was deliberately less welcoming than if he'd outright scowled. She said nothing about it, just gave him another hello after a small smile as if she hadn't noticed.

"Your brother's told me a lot about you. All good things, of course.." She toyed with the teabag in her mug, looking at neither it nor him as she spoke, and Loki noted with some satisfaction that she must be nervous. Thor might have been blind to his dislike of the woman, but she'd picked it up quickly despite how little he'd interacted with her. He wasn't impressed. It was obvious enough. "Darcy too. Which classes are you in with her again?"

"Small talk, lovely." He spoke in some parody of a mutter, and was almost disappointed that rolling his eyes had made him miss all but the tail-end of her surprised expression. She'd thought it would be a silent disapproval of her company, then, and she'd thought wrong. "Listen, Joan," The woman positively bristled, and Loki barely managed to keep the grin off of his face. "Thor's so delightfully oblivious when he's happy, he honestly won't notice we don't like each other unless you bring it up. Just do us both a favor and take the small blessings with him, it will go a long way."

He does grin then, ready to embrace the indignant silence, but instead he gets nothing but a concerned look.

"Joan?" She questions, and Loki gives a long-suffering sigh. "It was a slight. As if I'd forgotten your-" He starts to reply, but she holds up her hand with an authority that's so oddly reminiscent of his mother that he actually goes silent. "So you don't know a Joan? Or a Joanie?" She asks.

"I-.. no, I don't." He sounds irritated, and he's not sure anymore if it's as put-on as he first thought. "Why? Who's Joan?" The name holds no significance he can think of, and quickly Loki prattles off a list of Thor's friends in his head because there's something so deeply unsettling about the look on the woman's face that, in all honesty, he's beginning to think the anxiousness in it is contagious.

"No one." She answers, shaking her head, and Loki feels his own nervousness give way to impatience. What kind of answer is 'no one' after a reaction like that? "I've just heard him speaking on the phone to a Joan and I- Nothing. Nevermind." Jane waves him off, and he half expects her to say that it's Grown-Up Stuff.

But the words she _had_ said weren't lost on him. There was no way she was jealous over the call itself, even Loki's terribly and unfoundedly low opinion of her wasn't quite _that_ low, but Loki had a hard time thinking of what she might be leaving out. His brother wasn't exactly the type to go randomly rushing off from his girlfriend in favor of time with his friends, he was better at maintaining relationships than that, and it wasn't as if he'd ever sneak off and-

Oh god.

"Thor didn't take you out last week, did he?" He's sure there's only one possible answer, and if he's right he's digging a deep hole for Thor to have to climb out of, but he doesn't care. The pieces are falling into place but the puzzle's doesn't look right, and Loki began to realize with a creeping sort of dread that the feeling of desperation he'd had at the sight of Jane's face had too much to do with the fact that, for the first time in very long, he had no idea what might be going wrong in his brother's life to cause it.

And worse, he was acting out because of it. Being snide to a woman he didn't really know, planting seeds of doubt for the sake of sating his own curiosity.. maybe worse.

"Is everything alright?" Thor's voice cuts through the silence that had settled in the room, and while it startles Loki Jane's expression is just as unreadable as it had been before the blond had come in.

She doesn't say a single word as she gets up and walks out their front door, and Thor doesn't call after her.

"Go eat in your room." Thor says instead, so quietly Loki nearly missed it, and he tries in vain not to dwell on the fact that his brother didn't (couldn't?) look at him when he did.


	12. Chapter 12: The Final Chapter

_**Author's notes:** Firstly, woah, the amount of support and feedback I've gotten on this piece has been amazing. I honestly cannot thank you all enough for how great you've been all this time, especially with my.. uh.. less than frequent updates. All my love to each and every one of you._

_Secondly, I'll warn you all now for the slightly open ended conclusion to the story. I just didn't want to tie everything up too neatly so that I could come back to it later (for a sequel) if I felt the need or desire to. But I promise it won't cut to black in mid sentence._

_That all said, I hope you enjoy the final chapter of Stains in the Carpet. And again, thank you. _

* * *

><p>...<p>

The night was quiet, still, and as he stared up at the vacant darkness of his ceiling he realized that his father must have chosen to stay out after Thor had retrieved him. It's unsurprising, he supposes.

But it does not explain the absence of his brother.

His sigh fills the silence, but even so the bed's rusty springs sound unnaturally loud to his own ears, creaking in complaint as he turned over to face the wall that separated him from the couch. He strains his eyes and thinks he can see the crayon marks he left there as a child, back when this was Thor's bed, for him to find. Thor had been too old for idle doodling on the wall, but he'd taken the blame for it anyway. Smiled at Loki even after his mother's disapproving voice had assured him he'd be getting none of the cake she'd made.

Loki isn't sure if his chest feels tighter for the memory or the sound of the front door opening.

The floor's cold beneath his feet but he pays it no mind, barely feels it as he rights his too-large shirt and pads over to his door, opens it quietly but without hesitation.

He feels like this is a scene they keep replaying, doing wrong over and over and being forced to relive for their failure. He'd tried to do it differently, once, hadn't he? Walked into the kitchen in the middle of the night instead of staying in his room, only to find Thor with a broken mug and a strange look on his face.

Half-startled, half-.. whatever it was he was looking at him with now as he looked up at him from his seat on the couch.

"What are you doing up?" Thor's voice isn't angry, but it is rough, it hits his ear wrong and Loki knows he's probably been drinking for it to sound like that. "When I sent you to your room it wasn't a suggestion, it was a punishment."

On another night Loki might have scoffed, but the memory of his behavior earlier is still fresh in his mind, and the embarrassment of his acted upon.. yes, _jealousy_, burns in his cheeks. "I-.. I wanted to.." Ask where Thor's been going, what he's been thinking to just disappear for hours in the middle of the night, _just talk_.

His eyes raise to find his brother's deep blue ones already locked on him. But not his face, Loki notes with confusion, and traces his gaze as best he can to find it on his shoulder instead. Bared at some point during his walk from his room to the sofa.

Loki's breath catches, his skin prickles as he feels that stare on him even more acutely, and when he turns to look at Thor again he's not sure what expression he expects to find.. he's not sure if he's surprised that it's shame. "Thor-"

"Go to your room." Thor says, stern but quiet, his breath fast as if he's failing at calming himself. Loki takes a step forward and he tenses, swallows, but doesn't look away. Loki's not sure he's taken his eyes off of him since he left his room. "Loki.."

He feels lightheaded as he advances, the light coming in through the window barely lighting a thing, making it all seem too soft around the edges. Like a dream.

But Thor's shoulder feels solid beneath his hand, the shake in his breath sounds real enough to make Loki sway on his feet. Loki reaches with his other hand, his fingers sliding through the golden strands, and Thor tips his head back. Into the touch, away from it, to meet his younger sibling's gaze. He doesn't know. He's not sure Thor knows.

For a moment things seem to still entirely, caught on the edge of whatever it is that's been building between them over the last year. No, more.. so much more..

Loki's touch wanders to Thor's chin, just below his lower lip, and Thor stops breathing entirely. His eyes wide and there is a plea there, Loki thinks, but before he can decipher it they slip shut. He murmurs then, barely loud enough to be heard, and Loki understands.

"_Please_."

Almost at once Loki leans down and catches his lips, clumsy and earnest, and Thor.. Thor responds like switch was flipped inside him.

All at once he feels the man's touch all over him, cool air hitting his back as Thor's hands moved the shirt as he stroked the soft skin beneath the ratted fabric, swallowing the tiny sounds his brother made as he felt those large, work calloused, hands on him.

Too soon Thor pulls back, and Loki barely has the mental faculties left to open his eyes, let alone tell his brother to stop being an idiot and _kiss him again_- but a simple glance at the highly diminished space between them tells him why he did. He didn't even know when they'd begun to lean back.

"I…" He began as he tried to catch his breath, but the way Thor was staring at his neck told him that his flush had begun to spread, possibly to his collarbone, and the undeniably _hungry_ way the man was looking at him was doing nothing to make his breathing slow.

He's not sure who hears the rattling of the old doorknob first, but he knows it's Thor that has the sense of mind to get them into Loki's bedroom before the old man's come lumbering in.

Thor laughs almost nervously when the door is closed behind them, just loud enough for him to hear, and Loki's sure his lovable oaf of a brother has just realized what he's done.

He'd figured it was instinct already. Some left over reflex from when it had been _their_ room and all toys had to be hurried out of the living room before their father returned home, rather than a means of.. continuing.

Thor clears his throat softly, and despite the circumstances, despite what they've just _done_, he somehow looks the most relaxed he's seen him in a long time. And Loki feels it too, like a great weight's been lifted off of his soul. It should be the opposite, he thinks. Their father is home, he has no idea what his brother will say or do in regards to Jane, Loki won't be eighteen for months, but..

He meets his brother's eyes again and sees reflected there his same thoughts. They'd handled worse than a secret together together, hadn't they?

When Thor reaches for his hand, Loki gives it readily. He knows the request already, and with a slight smile he lets himself be led to the bed to curl up beside his brother. They don't fit, not like they used to, but it doesn't matter to either of them.

It's been forever since they've done this, just held each other through the night, and they both need it.

"Ever the gentleman." Loki mutters as Thor's hands settle innocently at the center of his back, and despite the trouble Thor had gone to before to keep them from attracting attention, the blond laughs outright.

There are a million questions he wants to ask, but when Thor begins to play with his hair he finds it difficult to voice any of them and disrupt the moment.

In the morning, he decides. They'll talk things through in the morning. But for tonight, if only for the one night, he'll easily find contentment in this.


End file.
